A new report by the Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor (HKLRM) details how Hong Kong's labor protections face "profound and alarming structural collapse" as national security surveillance becomes the "new normal" under Chinese rule. The report outlines the developments in administration and policy of the last year, documenting how the workers' rights movement is facing significant constrains. The "dual pressure of the National Security Law (NSL) and draconian amendments to the Trade Unions Ordinance (TUO)," which came into effect in January 2026, are leading to a "hollowing out of trade unions," says the report. (Freedom News)

Chinese construction workers building a fuel-production unit at a Rosneft refinery in Far East Russia's Khabarovsk krai took to the streets on April 12 to protest unpaid wages, regional authorities said. At least 200 employees of the Russian-Chinese contractor Petro-Hehua marched through the city of Komsomolsk-na-Amure demanding back payments and help from both the Russian government and Rosneft in returning to China. After the march, some workers staged a sit-in at a nearby park. Following the protest, the Komsomolsk-on-Amur prosecutor's office said it had opened an inquiry into possible labor law violations, but at least four protesters were fined for illegal assembly. (Novaya Gazeta, The Moscow Times, UA News)

Hong Kong issued written notices to two organizations on Nov. 24 that the government has promulgated orders to prohibit their operation, citing "reasonable grounds" to believe that they aim to subvert state power. The organizations can make representations in their defense before the prohibitions take effect.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Sept. 28 warned that pending legislation in China may lead to escalated repression of ethnic minorities and extend "ideological control" beyond the country’s borders.

The new legislation imposes Mandarin language dominance in public life and education across all regions of the People's Republic. Article 15(3) of the law requires that "if it is necessary to issue documents in minority languages and scripts," the documents must be accompanied by Mandarin versions, with clear indication that "the national common language" is given "prominence." 

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Aug. 6 called for the immediate and unconditional release of a former Macau lawmaker following his arrest on "national security" charges. The arrest marked the first time Macau, a Special Administrative Region of China, has invoked its sweeping Law on Safeguarding National Security.

The Hong Kong Legislative Council passed a law on June 25 that bans anyone convicted of a "national security" offense from forming or holding a leadership position within a union. The new law amends the Trade Union Ordinance, introducing a lifetime ban on union organizing for such offenders. This includes both holding a leadership position within a union as well as registering a new union, and the ban cannot be overruled by the chief executive. For reference, those charged with fraud or membership in a criminal organization are subject to a five-year ban. Unions must now also disclose any financial contributions from foreign actors.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) expressed deep concern April 7 over the continued detention of Taiwanese publisher Li Yanhe in China since 2023, citing violations of freedom of expression, access to information, and the right to a fair trial. For nearly two years, no official information was released about his case until Chinese authorities revealed in March that he had been secretly sentenced to an unspecified term.

The Hong Kong Court of First Instance on Nov. 19 sentenced 45 defendants for conspiracy to commit subversion, with prison terms ranging from 50 to 120 months, depending on their alleged roles in an unauthorized primary election staged by pro-democracy groups in 2020.

The case stems from pro-democracy activists' efforts beginning in January 2020 to gain a majority in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council. Their goal was to pressure the government to meet five demands: withdrawing a pending bill to ease extradition to mainland China, stopping the labeling of protests as "riots," dropping charges against activists, investigating police brutality, and implementing universal suffrage for Legislative Council and chief executive elections. In June 2020, Beijing imposed a National Security Law (NSL), broadly viewed as a means of stifling the ongoing protests. Hong Kong has in recent decades operated under a unique framework that grants it certain autonomy from mainland China's political system, an arrangement stemming from its 156-year history as a British colony before its 1997 handover to Chinese sovereignty.